The New York Mets announced Friday they’ve optioned Prince George native Jared Young to triple-A Syracuse to make room on the 26-player roster for third baseman Mark Vientos, who returned from an injury.
The 29-year-old Young was with the team in Pittsburgh when the move was announced. The Mets began a weekend series Friday against the Pirates.
“Our goal is to win baseball games here, but also understanding that we have a lot of young players that need development,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.
“In cases, we've done it. It got to a point where we had to send Luisangel Acuña back to the minor leagues, we sent (Francisco Alvarez). As long as we feel like there's gonna be at-bats and there's gonna be some playing time for them, we feel comfortable because they're here to help us win baseball games.”
Used primarily as a designated hitter, in 41 at-bats Young had seven hits, including three home runs and a double and four RBI while hitting .171 with a .642 OPS. He played one game in left field.
Young also pitched in a game, June 15 in New York, where he got the final out in a 9-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
He started the season with Syracuse but was sidelined with a leg injury from spring training. After a four-game injury assignment at single-A St. Lucie he played 22 games for Syracuse and hit .259 with 10 extra-base hits, including five home runs, collecting 21 RBI.
Young also played 22 games for the Chicago Cubs over two seasons (2022 and 2023) the team that drafted him in the 15th round in 2017 from Old Dominion University.
He played last season with the Memphis Redbirds (triple-A) and Doosan Bears (Korean Baseball Organization).
